Intermediate Algebra

Continuing their 30-year tradition of excellence, this revision of Lial/Hornsby Intermediate Algebra features the best possible text and supplements package using the most up-to-date strategies to help students succeed. One such strategy, evident in the new table of contents and consistent with current teaching practices, involves the early introduction of graphing lines in a rectangular coordinate system and functions. This organization provides students with increased exposure to basic graphing and function concepts, an integral part of later mathematics courses, throughout their study of intermediate algebra. It also allows the integration of interesting applications featuring real world data in the form of ordered pairs, tables, graphs, and equations. As a natural follow-up to the treatment of linear equations in Chapter 3, systems of linear equations are now presented in Chapter 4. Also consistent with this approach, graphs of quadratic equations are included earlier in the text when quadratic equations are solved rather than with the material on conic sections as in previous editions. The chapter on exponential and logarithmic functions appears earlier as well.If you choose not to cover graphing linear equations and functions earlier as the new edition suggests, you can defer Chapters 3 and 4 and cover them later after either Chapter 6 or 7. Section 5.3 and the material on graphing and functions in Sections 6.1, 6.4, 6.6, and 7.5 can easily be delayed or omitted.